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Thursday morning, bright and early, I’ll be the first presenter at the Da Vinci Institute’s daylong Podcast Bootcamp event at DeVry Univ. (Westminster, CO). I’m very excited about this event, because the other presenters are highly accomplished podcasters who can definitely expand my skill set.

Here’s a quick overview of what I plan to discuss in my hour in the spotlight…

1. The Public Conversation: Why it matters, and how podcasting is an important part of it.
2. What is Podcasting? And why should organizations care? It’s about building relationships and humanizing your business.
3. Size Matters: Why I think podcasting is likely to be huge in the long run. (Think cell phones. Lots and lots of cell phones…)
4. Size Doesn’t Matter: For most podcasts, audiences will probably be fairly small. But audience size only mattered in the era of mass media. We’re past that now, at least in the online world. The core value of podcasting (especially for companies, independent professionals and organizations) lies in its “Long Tail“
5. Listen before you talk: How to receive and listen to podcasts.
6. Ideas for external podcasting:
   • Position yourself as a service with useful news, tips, features, interviews, etc.
   • Educate your target audience (existing or potential customers, supply chain, partners, etc.)
   • Stand out from your competition.
   • Reinforce and demonstrate your core identity and values
   • Preserve and disseminate valuable info from conferences, teleseminars, etc. (Like – well – this one!)
7. Ideas for internal podcasting:
   • Communicate with sales, customer service, or other aspects of your staff in a context-rich manner that doesn’t bind them to the strict scheduling of conference calls.
   • Training and education
   • Recap important meetings, events, or internal news
   • Engage and motivate your staff by speaking to them in a human voice
   • Encourage loyalty and creativity by strengthening employer-employee-contractor relationships.
8. Where’s the money? Don’t bet on significant direct income (advertising, sponsors, etc.) View this as part of outreach, support, marketing, or other core functions. Be open to serendipity.

CONTENT STRATEGY TIPS FOR PODCASTERS:

1. Check in with your gut. What about podcasting resonates with you on a gut level? What excites you or makes you curious? Let that energy guide you. Don’t do this if it isn’t fun.
2. Define your goals. What’s your main motivation? What do you want to happen because you podcast? You can start out with basic goals and allow them to evolve.
3. Who’s your target audience? Define them as specifically as possible to support your goals. Why are you targeting these groups?
4. What do you have to say? What unique presence and value can you offer in the audio realm? Why should people bother to listen to you – and keep listening to you? Format, length, focus, and variety all count.
5. Tone it up. Decide which tone will be most comfortable, fun, credible, etc. for your target audience and for yourself. Fast-paced, slick, businesslike, authoritative, fun, etc. Feel free to experiment. Don’t back yourself into a corner too quickly.
6. Complement yourself. How will your podcast complement your weblog and other communication efforts?
7. Consider your sources. From where will you get your content? Interviews, books, discussions, monologues, “sound seeing,� original or existing music, etc. What licenses/rights will you need to acquire?
8. Consider your resources. Time, money, equipment, skills, and level of interest all matter greatly. Keep your initial shows very simple. Don’t set yourself up for frustration. If you find yourself getting stressed or bored, adapt your approach to your show to keep you interested and relaxed. It’ll show.
9. Education required? Does your target audience already know about podcasting? If not, create or link to tutorials.
10. Don’t just talk – listen! Ask for listener feedback, and let it influence you. Mention audience members by name as appropriate, as well as podcasters and bloggers who have mentioned you. Establish a mutually rewarding relationship with your audience and peers.

EXAMPLES:

Five great podcasts from businesses or organizations that you should listen to for ideas:

1. Diary of a Shameless Self-Promoter: By Heidi Miller, a freelance corporate presenter based in Chicago. She demonstrates her skills and offers value with interviews and business tips. Purpose: Promotion, networking, satisfies Miller’s natural vivacity and urge to be helpful. (Subscribe)
2. Earningscast: Recorded quarterly earnings conference calls by various prominent companies. Keith Teare does this for fun, but any public company that does these calls should consider this strategy. Purpose: Investor relations, financial news. (Subscribe)
3. Oilcast: By journalists Adam Porter andDani Gomez. Energy industry news and analysis, for a business audience. Purpose: Establishing expertise, news. Pretty slick. (Subscribe)
4. Science@NASA: By Tony Phillips. Engaging, brief feature stories about space, planetary exploration, and intriguing aspects of various NASA projects. Thgese features are presented for online reading, and then Phillips reads them aloud for the podcast. Purpose: Education, outreach, promotion. (Subscribe)
5. Virgin Atlantic podcast: Travel features and tips (so far mostly about NYC) from this international airline. Purpose: Marketing, education, relationship-building. (Subscribe)